Cafe Medina

I had an amazing brunch last weekend at Cafe Medina. I've been wanting to try this place for a long time now and I'm glad I finally got the chance.

It's pretty small inside, but the uncovered high ceilings give the illusion of spaciousness.

M and I both ordered drinks because the choices all sounded amazingly good. I chose the Lavender Latte and she had the White Chocolate Pistachio Mocha. The drinks came out in these charming blue mugs that I immediately wanted to take home with me. the drink below is my lavender latte that I forgot to mix in my eagerness to have a sip, so my first mouthfuls were a bit too sweet. Once the espresso kicked in, however, I was satisfied.

For our main dishes, M selected the Oeufs Cocottes - baked eggs on smoked black cod, asparagus, lemon roasted potatoes, and goat cheese, with shaved fennel and onion salad, as well as a side of grilled focaccia. I had a taste of the baked eggs and liked it, but I preferred my own dish.

I chose the La Sante - soft-boiled egg, heirloom tomato, avocado, prosciutto, extra-virgin olive oil, and grilled focaccia. I knew I was going to order this the moment I saw the words "soft-boiled egg". This is the way I like my eggs best and it's not always easy to find. It's also not that easy to make, which is perhaps why it's not on many menus. Cafe Medina's version is a not soft enough for my liking, but it's not too bad. It's almost closer to hard-boiled, but still a bit soft and runny. I don't know if there's a proper way of eating this dish, but what I did was to finish the egg first, and then had a bit of everything together. The avocado was perfect with the prosciutto and the tomatoes. Every mouthful I took was just delicious, an explosion of tastes that's so right.

You'd think after all this we'd be full, but the main reason for our visit here was for their BELGIAN WAFFLES. I have to capitalize them. They're just THAT GOOD! The waffles were amazing, the best I've ever tasted! They're crisp and chewy and you don't need a knife to slice them at all. I think there's some malt in the batter because they're just too good.

There were numerous options for sauces and M chose the lavender milk chocolate while I picked the raspberry caramel. Again, the sauces were just as amazing as the waffles. Both of us ended up scraping every little bit of the sauce from the dishes that we could. If we were a bit less polite, I think we would have licked the little dish!

I'm definitely going back before I leave. The waffles are the best meal I've had this entire trip so far and I want to bring my parents, my friends, my relatives...

Cafe Medina
556 Beatty St.
Vancouver, BC
604.879.3114
closed on Mondays